City of Fort Worth hires consulting firm to re-imagine Panther Island

January 12,2023

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See full CBS DFW article by Nick Starling here.

This week, the city of Fort Worth hired a consulting firm, HR&A Advisors to help re-imagine Panther Island which is just northwest of downtown and to the east of the historic Stockyards.

Last year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers allocated $403 million from the Federal government to help flood control efforts along the Trinity River.

For decades, city leaders have wrangled with how to develop Panther Island and with this next step, city leaders believe this will narrow down the focus on what it should be.

'We're at a point where a lot of things have changed," said Fort Worth City Councilman Carlos Flores, "Now we're ready to re-visit the project because the vision has changed over time. Now what we're looking at is assistance from HR&A Advisors to give us project management as well as team consultation services so that we can plot what the future is going to look like."

"We've got an opportunity to take a step back, make sure that that plan is the best we can do as we move forward," said Andy Taft, President of Downtown Fort Worth Inc.

Currently there's a handful of businesses on the peninsula that will later be transformed into an island, and when water surrounds the entire property, the hope is the space will be one of Fort Worth's top destinations.

"I personally think that it will transform what Fort Worth, Texas means to the world," added Taft.

While the timeline to get this complete is unknown—the priority is flood control and making this an actual island.

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Location Mentioned: Panther Island Pavilion